Ubisoft Cancels Six Games, Including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake
Ubisoft announced a large-scale company reboot, as part of which management has shut down six projects. Among the unlucky ones is the long-suffering Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake.
There is little information about the other canceled games. It is known that three of them belonged to new franchises, and another one was intended for mobile devices. The French company intends to focus on open-world adventures and live-service games.
The developers of Prince of Persia explained the cancellation of the re-release by the project's slow progress and assured that Ubisoft is not abandoning the series.
While the project had real potential, we were unable to achieve the level of quality you deserve, and continuing the work would have required more time and investment than we could responsibly put into the game. We also did not want to release a product that does not meet the bar set by The Sands of Time.
The Prince of Persia universe and its legacy remain very important to us, and this decision does not mean we are giving up on the franchise.
The corporation's troubles don't end there:
- The release of seven Ubisoft games has been delayed. Among them is an as-yet unannounced title that was supposed to go on sale by March 31; rumors suggest it is a remaster of Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag. The new release window is the next fiscal year (ending March 31, 2027).
- The company is disbanding its Stockholm division. This team, it should be noted, participated in the creation of the action game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
- The restructuring will affect the Abu Dhabi office, as well as the RedLynx and Massive Entertainment studios (the former is responsible for the Trials motorcycle arcade series, and the latter for the looter-shooters The Division). Apparently, layoffs have occurred at all these branches.
- All Ubisoft employees will be required to return to the office — only a limited number of remote work days per year will be allocated.
Finally, Ubisoft announced the implementation of a decentralized structure — the corporation will be divided into five Creative Houses, each focusing on a specific type of game:
- Creative House 1 (Vantage Studios) will focus on key brands — Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six.
- CH2 will dedicate itself to cooperative and competitive action games, such as The Division, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell.
- CH3 will support live-service games, including For Honor, The Crew, Riders Republic, Brawlhalla, and Skull and Bones.
- The domain of CH4 will be "atmospheric fantasy worlds" and story-focused universes — Anno, Might & Magic, Rayman, Prince of Persia, and Beyond Good & Evil.
- The fifth Creative House has been tasked with strengthening Ubisoft's position in the casual and family entertainment space. The department will develop projects like Just Dance, Idle Miner Tycoon, Hungry Shark, and UNO.